The pre-registration advising period for students planning their spring 2012 class schedules begins Tuesday and will run until Nov. 2.
Students should schedule a meeting with their advisors during the advising period to prepare for spring registration, which begins Nov. 3. In addition to gaining access to individual registration codes, advising meetings will allow students to make sure they are taking the necessary courses for graduation and discuss post-graduation plans with their advisors.
Devon Brenner, interim head of the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education in the College of Education, said she believes it is important for students to attend these meetings so they will know whether they have taken the courses to graduate on time and have access to registration opportunities as soon as they occur.
Rebecca Robichaux, associate professor for elementary education, said she asks her students to prepare for their advising by downloading a current CAPP report from myState to see which requirements are incomplete.
“Students should go to their pre-registration advising meetings having a good idea about which courses they need to enroll in, based on their CAPP reports,” she said. “They should prepare a list of questions and concerns that they have regarding their degree … Advisors can answer these questions during the pre-registration advising meetings.”
Many instructors and advisors encourage students to find classes that interest them, even if they are not required.
Michael Valentine, instructor of human sexual behavior, said he feels it is easier for a student to succeed if he or she wants to learn about a subject.
“If a person is interested in a topic, they are much more likely to spend time reading about it and researching it. The homework becomes less of a chore … it becomes more enjoyable,” he said.
Valentine said his class covers a variety of topics related to sexual behavior, including sexual orientation, gender differences, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases and sexual practices.
Classical mythology, taught by Robert Wolverton, is another course students may find interesting.
Wolverton said the course is cross-listed between religion and classical languages and literature because it includes aspects of both.
“My course is divided into three sections: stories of creation and destruction, beginning with the Sumerians around 2300 B.C., Greek and Roman gods and goddesses and heroes and their lives and exploits, including Heracles, Jason and Aeneas,” he said.
A unique class offered to all students at Mississippi State University is floral design, taught by James DelPrince. He said he thinks students enjoy the class because it is different from a lecture about plants.
“There is so much hands-on learning, and (students) learn with a bit of practice; designing with flowers is an enjoyable, even relaxing hobby,” DelPrince said.
Floral design requires students to learn the theories, principles and elements of design, but students also create floral arrangements during the class, he said.
“Floral design is full of theory and getting to know the theory is typically the hard part,” DelPrince said. “Getting flowers into your hands … sculpting them into pleasing decorative art objects is the fun part.”